The present invention involves a modeling and calculation technique which is valuable for properly practicing Digital Heat Injection technology. Digital Heat Injection (DHI) technology is a technology that is detailed and described extensively in a series of patents and patent applications including U.S. Pat. No. 7,425,296; U.S. application Ser. No. 11/351,030 (filed Feb. 9, 2006 as a continuation of U.S. Pat. No. 7,425,296); U.S. application Ser. No. 11/448,630 (filed Jun. 6, 2006); U.S. application Ser. No. 12/135,739 (filed Jun. 9, 2008); U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/224,822 (filed Jul. 10, 2009); and, U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/157,799 (filed Mar. 5, 2009), all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
DHI technology can be summarized as an efficient technique for heating, drying, curing, cooking, and many other processes by taking advantage of the characteristic absorption signature of the target item and correspondingly irradiating the target item with narrow-band irradiation at wavelengths or narrow wavelength bands which are selected in accordance with the absorption signature or characteristics of the target.
For example, if a particular target material has a desired absorption level at 1450 nano-meters, then a system can be designed to irradiate the target at that wavelength to take advantage of that particular absorption coefficient which directly affects the heat penetration curve as a function of the depth from the front irradiation surface. This curve is often referred to herein as the heat profile. As one trying to practice the DHI art will very quickly begin to understand, in order to get optimum results from the DHI application, it is desirable to do many calculations and extensive modeling ahead of time in order to achieve a satisfactory result.
There is a multitude of parameters that need to be considered and evaluated to do thorough modeling of the result. Many of these fundamental parameters are described in the patents listed above. Certainly, the fundamentals of absorption coefficients and thickness of material and methodologies for narrow band irradiation are covered very thoroughly in the DHI patent(s) and applications referenced above. What is not taught is a specific technique for modeling some of the circumstances that one practicing DHI technology may run into in various applications.